FACT SHEET: Emergency Room Rights bills
"Balser House Bill No 2042 & Koutoujian House Bill No 1891” (2007-2008)

M-POWER (Massachusetts People/Patients Organizing for Empowerment, Wellness & Rights) urges legislators to support the following bills: 

Balser House Bill No 2042: “An Act to protect the mentally ill in emergency rooms”

Chief sponsor Rep. Ruth B. Balser, Mental Health & Substance Abuse Committee 

H 2042 requires the department of public health (DPH) & the department of mental health (DMH) to write new regulations concerning psychiatric and behavioral health patients in ERs. H 2042 gives mental health advocates, such as M-POWER and NAMI-MASS a seat at the table in policy discussions. H 2042 lets us negotiate more humane and effective treatment.  

Koutoujian House Bill No 1891:  “An Act relative to the treatment of mentally ill patients in emergency room facilities”

Chief sponsor Rep. Peter J. Koutoujian, Public Health Committee

H 1891 gives DMH licensing authority over medical hospital emergency rooms, instead of DPH. ER staff unnecessarily fear mentally ill people because of the stigma of mental illness and a lack psychology training. This leads to discrimination and outrageous abuse. Abuses are not isolated incidents but rather result from mistaken system-wide policy. If H 1891 becomes law, DMH investigators will handle complaints about mistreatment. DMH better handles complaints by people labeled with “mental illness” than DPH.